Shoe-lacing attachment.



No. 746,042. PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903.- A. A. DE LOAGH.

SHOE LAOING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.23.1902.

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Patented December 8, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALONZO AARON DE LOACH, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

SHOE-LACING ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,042, dated December8, 1903.

Application filed December 23,1902. Serial No. 136,336. (No model.)

To [LZZ whom, it 771/661] concern.-

Be it known that l, ALONZO AARON DE LOACH,a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State ofGeorgia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-LacingAttachments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in that class of shoe-lacings in whichthe buttons secured to the shoe along the edge of the slit therein areprovided with rollers to relieve friction of the lacing-cord in drawingand tightening the same.

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts arehereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which Figure 1 is a side view of my improved button. Fig. 2 is acentral vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of thesame. Fig. 4 is a view similar in the main to Fig. 2, but illustratingthe manner of securing certain parts together. Fig. 5 is a perspectivefront view of the portion of a shoe provided with my improved lacingattachments.

My improved button is composed of a concavoconveX cap or hood. a pin orstud 2, a tubular flanged stud or shank 3, and a roller 4. The said cap1 has side apertures 5 (see Figs. 1 and 3) for the lacing cord or string6, which is indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 3, and shown in full in Fig.5. The pin or stud 2 has a flanged head and is secured to the center andunder side of the cap 1 by means of a flange 7, formed on the latter. Asshown in Fig. 4, the cap or hood 1 is formed with its flange projectingdownward, and the same is subsequently pressed inward or spun upon thehead of the pin, as shown in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that the capor hood 1 will be formed of some metal which permits this operation tobe easily effected. The stud 3 has a central vertical bore 8 of suchsize as to receive the pin 2, but requiring the latter to be forced intoplace, so that when the two are thus connected the attachment ispermanent. The base of the stud 3 is provided with a lateral flange 9.The roller 4. is preferably grooved, as shown, and is applied to the pinin the space between the cap 1 and the tubular stud 3, its under sidebeing preferably in the same line or flush with the base of the cap. Thepin 2 thus forms the journal for the roller 4, the latter being adaptedto rotate with great freedom.

To apply my improved button to a shoe, as shown in Fig. 5, the shoe isprovided with a series of holes at the right distance apart along theedges of the slit therein, such holes being adapted to receive the shankof the tubular stud 3. When the said stud is thus applied, thebase-flange 9 rests against the under side of the leather, which isindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The roller having been slipped onthe pin 2, the latter is then forced into the tubular stud 3 and theparts assume the position and relation shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Insuch case the cap or hood 1 rests upon the upper edge ofthe leather, asindicated in Fig. 1. It is apparent that the cap thus presents noprojecting edges which can catch in the garment of the wearer and,besides,forms an ornamental attachment of the shoe. A small lacing cordor string 6 is employed, the same being passed through one of theopenings 5 in the cap 1 and around the roller and out through the otheropening 5, as will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 3 and 5.When the string or lacing 6 has been thus applied, knots 10 (see Fig. 5)are formed at its ends, the same being made of such size as to preventwithdrawal of the string through the top button-cap l. The upperportions of the lacing 6 are provided with an elastic core, so that theyhave great elasticity, and thus permit the top portions of the shoe tobe distended or separated widely, as required for putting on the shoewith desired freedom.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The improved button hereinbefore described, comprising theconcavo-convex cap having two side notches, a tubular stud having abase-flange,a pin permanently secured to the cap in its inner side andalso in said stud, and the grooved roller mounted rotatably on said pinin the space between the stud and cap, the edge of the cap extendingdown to a point whereit is flush with the lower side of the roller, asshown and described.

2. The combination, with a slitted shoe, of buttons constructed asdescribed, the same comprising a tubular stud having a baseflange,concavo-convex caps having two side notches in their flanges which pressupon the leather, pins permanently secured in the under side of saidcaps and in the studs, and rollers journaled on the pins between thecaps and studs, and the lacing rove through the buttons and having knotsat its ends which are larger than the notches in the button-caps, asshown and described.

3. The combination, with a slitted shoe and buttons comprising tubularflanged studs, concavo-convex caps having side notches, centraldepending pins which enter said studs, and rollers journaled on saidpins, of

the lacing having knots at its ends, and an elastic core adjacentthereto, substantially as shown and described.

4. The improved shoe-button comprising the flanged tubular stud, theconcavo-convex cap, a pin rigidly secured in both stud and cap, and aroller journaled on the pin within the cap and arranged with its lowerside in the same plane with the edge of the cap, substantially as shownand described.

ALONZO AARON DE LOACH.

Witnesses:

V. H. DE LOAOH, J. CUNNINGHAM, Jr.

